An air intake apparatus including a sensor holding portion which holds a sensor is known. Such air intake apparatus is disclosed, for example, in JP2012-62773A which is hereinafter referred to as Reference 1.
Reference 1 discloses a construction including a resin-made intake manifold (an air intake apparatus body) through which air flows, the air being introduced to an inside of an engine, a pressure sensor measuring a fluid pressure within the intake manifold, a hose communicating between the pressure sensor and the inside of the intake manifold, and a fixation portion and a positioning portion which are provided for mounting the pressure sensor at the intake manifold. In the aforementioned construction, the fixation portion and the positioning portion are provided at an outer surface of the intake manifold. The pressure sensor is held at the intake manifold in a state of being fixed and fastened by means of a bolt and a nut at the fixation portion and in a state where the positioning portion in a pin form is fitted into an engagement bore formed at the pressure sensor.
In the aforementioned construction of Reference 1, because the pressure sensor is necessarily fastened and fixed by means of the bolt and the nut at the fixation portion, a process for fixing the pressure sensor to the intake manifold (i.e., a process for stabilizing the pressure sensor) may take time. In a case where the pressure sensor is not fastened or fixed by means of the bolt and the nut at the fixation portion, for example, required time for the process of fixing the pressure sensor at the fixation portion may be restrained from increasing. Nevertheless, the fixation between the pressure sensor and the intake manifold may be insufficient in a state where only the positioning portion is fitted into the engagement bore of the pressure sensor. Because of such insufficient fixation, a clearance may be generated between the pressure sensor and the intake manifold. In this case, looseness of the pressure sensor relative to the intake manifold, which leads to vibration, may cause decrease of detection accuracy of the pressure sensor.
A need thus exists for an air intake apparatus which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.